


Pyrrhic

by quantumoddity



Series: Unusual Words Prompts [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Established Relationship, M/M, Suicidal Thoughts, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:34:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23410270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quantumoddity/pseuds/quantumoddity
Summary: pyrrhic: (adj.) won at too great a costRemember in canon when Anna Ripley (nearly) killed Percy? That but modern au and Perc'ildan
Relationships: Percival "Percy" Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vax'ildan
Series: Unusual Words Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687018
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72





	Pyrrhic

“They know…”

That’s what Percy had sobbed, as the rain had beat down hard on the pavement, though not loud enough to silence the gunshot that had torn through his side. 

“They know...they know about me,” he’d gasped out in a voice that was rapidly fading and raw like tearing paper, even as Vax had begged him to save his strength, to hang on and wait for Babenon, “They know about me and, fuck, they know about  _ you _ …”

Vax had told him that none of it mattered, tears stinging in his eyes and heart pounding in his chest, blood and rain soaking through his fingers. He’d just begged him to be okay to please, please hang on. But even as Percy’s jaw had locked and he’d started to convulse, all he had ground out between his teeth was that  _ they know.  _

Vax was sitting up before he was truly awake, head swimming with those words. It was still dark, not even the kind of dark that was fading around the edges with the coming dawn. 

And his husband wasn’t in bed beside him. But his cane was resting against the door, just where he’d left it last night, the one he was supposed to use every time he needed to move around. The cane they’d argued about a lot, when he would ‘forget’ it ten times a day. 

Vax sighed and threw back the covers. It had been four months since Percy had been allowed out of hospital, a lot of time to forget and heal. But he was starting to worry that things never were going to go back to normal. 

It was hard to forget that the monsters who killed your family had sent a hitman after you. And that she’d almost succeeded. 

From the chill in the air, Vax knew where Percy was before he’d even stepped out of their tiny bedroom into their just as tiny living room. He frowned as, sure enough, he saw the window thrown open wide and his boyfriend perched out on the fire escape, his coat pulled tight around him. 

Perfect place for someone with a price on their head to be. In full view of about half a hundred windows, suspended over a five story plummet downwards. 

Vax felt rage build in his chest, a hot and bubbling kind of rage that was sick of being stamped down. As much as he tried to tell himself that Percy was scared and hurting and struggling, that Vax would feel much the same if the positions were reversed, there was only so much he could carry for him. 

He found out exactly where his limit was when he noticed the thin stream of sickly smoke rising from in front of Percy’s hunched silhouette.

“You know, half elves don’t just have good hearing, our noses work fine too,” Vax snapped, making sure he was deathly silent up until the moment he was right behind Percy. 

He at least had the grace to look ashamed as he whirled around, the cigarette quickly disappearing over the edge of the fire escape until it was just an orange spot in the shadows below, “Vax’ildan…”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Percy?” Vax was ashamed to feel tears burning his eyes, he’d never been able to get angry without crying, “You got shot  _ in the fucking chest.” _

Percy bit his lip, unable to look him in the eyes, “It helps when I can’t sleep.”

“Okay, so you’re allowed to break your promise to me every time you have trouble sleeping?” Vax could feel his wings pressing against the back of his shirt, threatening to burst out. He could feel himself slipping too far, losing control of himself but he was past caring. 

Percy shifted, making to stand but pain lanced across his expression, “Ah…”

“Is this what you want, Percy?” Vax’s voice came out strangled, “You want me to just stand back and watch while you hurt yourself?”

“Vax…” 

And there it was. Defeat in the edges of Percy’s voice, like paper curling up as it blackened and burned. 

Vax’s tension disappeared as if it had never been there. He looked at Percy, tears still flowing down his cheeks, smearing yesterday’s makeup that he’d forgotten to take off before bed. And his boyfriend, the man he loved, looked away. He looked so young in the moonlight, like the boy Vax had never known but could see flashes of sometimes. 

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Vax’s shoulders sagged, “You’ve given up.” 

Percy rubbed the back of his neck, fingers anxiously stroking the shorter hairs there, “Vax, I…you don’t know them the way I do. My only hope was them thinking I’d died and now...now they know I’m not, they won’t stop. They can’t let me live. And you...Vax, you don’t know the things they’d do to you just to hurt me…”

“So you’ve given up,” Vax screwed his eyes shut, unable to look at him, silvered in the moonlight, looking so beautiful and so broken, “You’ve given up on me, on Cassandra…”

“Cassandra is in more danger if I’m alive-”

“And what do you think she’d say to that?”

“I don’t know who my sister even is anymore!” Percy’s voice was growing strained and desperate, “I don’t know what they’ve turned her into! What if there’s nothing to save anymore?”

Vax wanted to shake him, he wanted to kiss him, he wanted to slap him, “Percy, I can’t believe you…”

“It feels like I’ve been living on borrowed time since that night,” Percy’s hands were shaking now, “And...and I’m just so tired of being scared…”

Vax shook his head, eyes full of fire when he snapped them open again. “Fine. That’s fine, Percy, you’ve given up. That doesn’t mean I have to.” 

He was far faster than Percy, even before he’d taken two bullets to the leg and chest. There was nothing he could do as he pulled away and whirled for the door. 

“Vax, where are you going?” Percy called after him, panic in his voice, “Don’t…”

Vax didn’t have an answer for him, he didn’t know where he was going. All he knew was what he was going to do. 

He was going to end the Briarwoods. 

**Author's Note:**

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